I'm glad the Steelers decided to keep Sanders in Pitt, they helped the Pats from giving up a third rd pick for another jag WR. Now hopefully the Pats will figure out how to draft a top WR in the 1st without injuries.

When is the last time the took a wide receiver in the FIRST round? Since they became the New England Patriots they have drafted Fryer, Stingley, Morgan, Dykes Lee Hart, and Terry Glenn in the first round . . . all had pretty good careers with the exception of Hart breaking his knee cap that cut short a very promising career.

Better to take a shot with a young stud then give up a third round pick for a one-year-rent a player.

Also think Kenny Stills or Swopes from Texas A&M as pickups in the 3rd round would be better for the team than Lloyd if they do not pick a wide receiver in the first or second rounds.

I agree about Sanders - I was luke warm on him because of the draft pick. I think BB lost leverage last year when he stripped out the middle of the draft for the first round picks and teams stuck it too him when he tried to trade out of the second round. I suspect he would have been quite good here, but better production than Lloyd? - he would have needed to almost double his last season totals.

I hope they do not use the first round on a receiver unless everyone else has passed on the top couple. Second and third round guys should be pretty good and not more 'guaranteed' of success than whoever they took at the end of the 1st. I think there will be some stud DL and OL guys available there as well as some pretty good DBs and I think that is a better percentage play.

On Lloyd - if there isn't something really wrong there (and reports of the Pats trying to renegotiate with him suggest there wasn't) is a solid option to bring back. For all his supposed faults on the field he produced better numbers than any WR not named Welker or Moss that has played in the last 7 years, maybe 10 years. He had that whopper of a drop early, but I don't remember many more - certainly a smaller percentage than Welker and I think Hern and Gronk. And from my seat, it didn't look like he was screwing up routes or confusing Brady with where he was running.

Kind of torn on how I feel about Lloyd...I thought he was an average signing, average/slightly above average player...and I think both the signing and the player turned out to be more than we've come to expect from off season moves of late. Typical of us he was a low risk move, that turned into a one year rental that we have to replace (see - Carter, Waters, Anderson)...these are the best free agents we've signed over the last five years by far. I think this approach is getting old and it does little to improve the team moving forward - it puts a lot of pressure on your QB to win games too.

the production was acceptable...getting released, absorbing the dead money and being in the same position as last year needing WR's is not acceptable...

the cap space was available last year to fix this...Lloyd was not the fix, because he is not on the team and his dead money is taking space

again, nothing to do with production...but the end result is wasted money and a gaping hole at WR

It's not "gaping" at all. You're clueless.

It's needs to be bolstered, but it's not "gaping". You're just preying on that stupid rhetoric and everything is an extreme doom and gloom analysis from you.

Do you realize, your favorite team the Jets, just resigned Calvin Pace to the vet minimum because they're carrying so much dead money, no cap room, no one wants to go there and he needed a job again?

Do you realize how stupid you sound this whole time praising the Jets for the last 3 years and bashing BB here relentlessly like this?

Your act is old and pathetic. Leave the board.

You lost 2 bets with me, didn't follow the bet parameters on either and are acting like a complete nozzle here on a daily basis. You're a disgrace and annoying everyone here.

Gaping or however you want to classify it, it still is a big issue.

I agree with rkarp on two things here

1. The misstep on Lloyd, the dead money and how we are back trying to fill a need at WR that we have been trying to fill for some time. Kind of reminds me of our cb carousel.

2. His characterization of the wr's that are on the roster currently. Not a lethal group by any stretch, and one that has proven to have durability concerns , yes, I agree IF the te's and IF the rb's stay healthy that mitigates the exposure somewhat, but this group has its share of durability concerns as well.

we need a cant miss WR in the draft. Even then, he needs to step up and get on the same page as Brady and learn the offense seamlessly. Lloyd can help mitigate this risk as well, and I think needs to be resigned. Lots of ifs and ??? Here....that doesn't concern you?